The Crossroads of the Aether
Planning to Move North (advice wanted)
Fondest Greetings,
I and my gentleman companion intend to move up north in a year or so and we're trying to figure out where to move. I thought this would be ideal for information about the northeastern US.
The key things we'd be looking for is affordable housing, potential for jobs, gay friendly environment, as well as other steampunks/goths/otaku/awesome people in the area. Proximity to big cities would also be very appealing. I know he would prefer a large city, and I'd certainly like it.
Some cities that have been under consideration have been Salem MA(For the Witchies), Providence RI (For Lovecraft), & Philadelphia PA (For the History). The problem is neither of us have spent enough time in New England or explored widely enough to get a grasp on the areas.
We both presently live in Florida and are looking forward to getting OUT of this state!!!
We were up in Piscataway, NJ for the Steampunk Worlds Fair and the pleasant weather was so seductive! I want autumn leaves that change color, and a winter that gets some snow. I know, be careful what you wish for, but seriously, I don't mind dressing in layers. Everywhere has it's quirks. I'm presently in a state that gets hurricanes & occasional tornadoes, as well as hellish summer heat and humidity, snakes, bugs, and all manner of pests. So it all goes with a grain of salt.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
H.M. Pangloss & J.M. Renfield
I and my gentleman companion intend to move up north in a year or so and we're trying to figure out where to move. I thought this would be ideal for information about the northeastern US.
The key things we'd be looking for is affordable housing, potential for jobs, gay friendly environment, as well as other steampunks/goths/otaku/awesome people in the area. Proximity to big cities would also be very appealing. I know he would prefer a large city, and I'd certainly like it.
Some cities that have been under consideration have been Salem MA(For the Witchies), Providence RI (For Lovecraft), & Philadelphia PA (For the History). The problem is neither of us have spent enough time in New England or explored widely enough to get a grasp on the areas.
We both presently live in Florida and are looking forward to getting OUT of this state!!!
We were up in Piscataway, NJ for the Steampunk Worlds Fair and the pleasant weather was so seductive! I want autumn leaves that change color, and a winter that gets some snow. I know, be careful what you wish for, but seriously, I don't mind dressing in layers. Everywhere has it's quirks. I'm presently in a state that gets hurricanes & occasional tornadoes, as well as hellish summer heat and humidity, snakes, bugs, and all manner of pests. So it all goes with a grain of salt.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
H.M. Pangloss & J.M. Renfield
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by David Murphy on -
I currently reside in MA. I cant say too much for Providence as I have only pass through it a few time. However I have spent some time in Salem. I personally love Salem lots to do and see there. Halloween is amazing there fair rides, food music countless numbers of people.
-
Permalink Reply by Major Girth on -
Depending on what you do, jobs in Philly can be difficult. Housing prices are all over the place depending on which Philly burb you are interested in or if you want to live in-city. Philly is fairly gay-friendly though I'm not part of that culture ( I used to hang out ...being artsy and all...) and New Hope and Doyelstown certainly have fairly active gay communities.
The alt cultures are also pretty well represented across the board.
I suggest taking advantage of summer city hotel weekend rates and specials and staying for a couple weekends, 1 in the city and 1 in the burbs....I'd also watch carreerbuilder and Monster for jobs.
Luck
-
Permalink Reply by Baldur Makepeace Bear on
-
Oh, I do so love Toronto
-
-
I cannot speak for Philadelphia dear Professor but both Providence and Salem are gay friendly.
Salem is charming, but expensive and tends to be swamped with tourists
Providence is perhaps the more economical choice but job prospects are bad everywhere right now. It also has large amounts of Victorian architecture and a good sampling of the arts. There is a large student population because of the many colleges and universities
Many of the working artists that had been living in Providence have been migrating to Pawtucket, RI. It is a very urban place and is rife with huge old 19th century mill buildings. Some of these now house artist communities. Large tracts of it are bargain priced as compared to Providence
Hope this was somewhat helpful,
Baldur Bear
-
Permalink Reply by Whisper Merlot on
-
did my reply get deleted?
-
-
oh never mind, you posted this elsewhere ^_^
-
Permalink Reply by Prof. H.M. Pangloss on -
Thank you to everyone for your replies thus far. You're all giving such good advice.
Another thing to ask would be places to avoid; shady, sketchy, or downright unpleasant places. Also places where crime is a major problem.
I am torn between the hometown feel and the big city feel. But I suppose in the north you can balance both quite well.
-
Permalink Reply by Ms. Jenska Crowley on -
Well, I know you are more interested in the Northeast, but if you are looking for a city that is gay friendly, has all four seasons with changing leaves in fall and snow in winter, and has both a big city and hometown feel to it, you might check out Louisville, KY. It's a beautiful river town and has the biggest Victorian neighborhood in the country as well as the largest collection of iron front buildings as well, I think. There are about a million people, but it's very neighborhood centric. It is also close to Cincinatti, Columbus (home of MAR-Con, next year's theme is "alternate history"!), Nashville, Indianapolis and is relatively close to cities like St. Louis and Chicago. If you're interested, look at Old Louisville, the Highlands, and Crescent Hill...these are the best neighborhoods and the living costs aren't outrageous.
-
Permalink Reply by Roxana Hire on -
In all fairness, there are some REALLY bad places in B-more as with all cities( see my recommendation below) that you need to avoid. If you pick my city I would be happy to help you pick out those bad ones, to avoid ( Warning anything in 'Druid Hill' is bad). Baltimore has gotten a bad rep bc of The Wire, but I live near where those Tower were (they were destroyed in the 80's) and the place is very nice, and full of Univ MD students (mostly PhD's and MD's) and young families.
-
Permalink Reply by Firefey on -
come out west. seattle has: seasons and all manner of different weather (not just rain); thriving steam/goth/gay scenes; is most affordable (says the Cali transplant); has a number of big city amenities but still maintains a more homeie feel; steamcon in your back yard. jobs are available depending on your field, you're best bet is to look at monster and the like.
-
Permalink Reply by Gen. Malcolm Kane USAAC on
-
You might consider Ct. We have lot of small cities . Tonnes of history. Good access to both NYC and Boston. And are Gay friendly.
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh Luck on -
The new Hope, Pa and Lambertvlle, NJ areas are very artsy and friendly...if you are buying NJ has outrageous property taxes. These towns are about 40 minutes north of Philly and a half hour from Princeton and a little over an hour from NYC. It's a beautiful country area along the Delaware river....very picturesque. I live about an hour south just outside Philly in NJ...my little town of Wenonah is just 15 minutes from downtown Philly....convenient.
© 2013 Created by Hephzibah Marsh.
